As scores of colleges rush to offer free online classes, the mania over massive open online courses may be slowing down. Even top proponents of MOOCs are acknowledging critical questions remain unanswered, and are urging further study.

hmm, that's an interesting take. I agree that some (often particular politicians) out there are only too happy to have a go at universities as wasteful, unproductive, etc. I also know that seriously thinking about ICT in education (see my blog below), or perhaps I should say alternative ways of teaching some of which involve the online, is something not all lecturers are willing to explore. What I don't like about hyped discussions is that room for serious arguments, which include pause for thought and the collection of empirical data - rapidly gets depleted. So I am not a MOOC critic per se, but I am very critical of many of the discussions around them.

I agree fully with that! I particular there is some promise in Learning Analytics to see if we can actually measure effectiveness of learning. MOOC criticism and serious study is certainly justified, often I have the impression the fire is somewhat misdirected. Anyway it offers a great opportunity to rethink, and as you say, study more deeply.

Great quote by Carol Geary Schneider, the head of the Association of American Colleges and Universities:

"MOOCs can amplify the “least productive pedagogy” in American higher education, which she calls lectures followed by multiple-choice tests. But she does see potential for MOOCs to help flip classrooms so professors can spend less time lecturing in class and more time engaging students.

It would be a tragedy if you substituted MOOCs in their current form for regular courses,” she said in an interview. “But it would be a creative breakthrough if you take advantage of MOOCs and other forms of online coverage to make more space and more time for students to apply concepts and methods appropriate to their field to real problems.”

Here’s the abstract of a paper just out called In pursuit of leanness: The management of appearance, affect and masculinities within a men’s weight loss forum. In a somatic society which promotes visible, idealized forms of embodiment, men are increasingly being interpellated [sic] as image-conscious body-subjects. Some research suggests that men negotiate appearance issues in …

The crew at CAST felt that traditional lesson plans built around print were leaving too many kids out, frustrating some students while boring others.

So they flipped their approach. Rather than help individual students plug back into the classroom, they set out to transform the classroom itself. They built software and digital tools to pack lessons with flexibility, offering every student multiple ways to learn and to express that learning—including print, speech, graphics, music, and interactive games, among others. They called their new mission “universal design for learning,” and a movement was born. Spurred by the rapid advance of computers and broadband Internet in schools, UDL initiatives have sprung up in nearly every state in the last five years.

"Rose’s favorite new CAST projects is called Udio (the name’s a mash of UDL and studio), an online reading curriculum funded by the Department of Education. It’s aimed at kids in middle school, the grades where struggling readers start running into trouble in nearly every subject.

Standard reading supports focus on things like phonics and building vocabulary with simple sentences. The problem is that struggling readers aren’t the same as beginning readers. Research shows that these students feel a palpable sense of dread when asked to read a passage of text, measured as a physical stress reaction of sweaty palms and a rapid heart rate. “You realize, oh my God, these kids aren’t even in the same classroom. They’re in the savanna with hungry lions prowling, and you’re trying to teach them phonics,” says Rose.

“We’re not saying that intensive interventions for reading skills, like phonics, decoding, and fluency, aren’t needed,” adds Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, CAST’s co-president and director of the Udio project. “But you can’t get traction with those skills unless you practice. And you have to practice with ardent intent. You have to want to do it.”

SEO has become a cornerstone in content marketing campaigns as businesses look to establish a presence on the Internet. However, SEO is about more than just making sure you have the appropriate keywords placed in landing pages and blog posts. Search engines are getting smarter – specifically Google – which is constantly trying to keep the playing field leveled with every new update.Google’s goal is to ensure that Web surfers are getting quality results each time they submit a search query, and you need to keep these guidelines in mind to make sure your company site actually reaches your target audience. That being said, it helps to know how to optimize your SEO strategy to make sure that you’re always tapping into the potential of the Web. Here are eight tools you can use to enhance your current SEO plan. Continue reading →

This is the first article in a four-part series exploring how Google has entered the AT world and become a great option for students with dyslexia. It will explain the basics of how Google’s Chrome browser can be used in various ways to help with reading and writing. The second part will look at specific Chrome extensions that work in conjunction with various websites and the education tools of Google Drive. The third part will explain specific Chrome apps that can accommodate language difficulties. Finally, the fourth part will explore add-ons to Google Docs that can help with various writing and study skills.

Lawrence now has introduced Chromebooks into our middle school. The google environment offers several robust strategies and tools to support students with dyslexia. As you point out, these are not device specific. The bottom line has always been that technology is not a solution--it is a strategy or a tool. At the same time, when we have the right strategy and the rights tools, the solution is within our grasp!--Lou

Facebook isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Instagram. The photo-sharing network, acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, announced Wednesday that 300 million people now use the site each month. That’s up from 200 million just nine months ago—an astonishing growth rate for such a large service. It’s still...

Carolyn D Cowen's insight:

Written by Will Oremus of Slate (and son of my great friend, Earl Oremus!).

"Dyslexic Advantage - UCSF Scientific Symposium: Dyslexia Beyond Reading: Memory, Cognition, Expertise, and Innovation - Dr. Maryanne Wolf discusses some of the behaviors all parents can employ to help their child become a successful reader. Wolf also emphasizes how important it is for parents to realize the positive impact they can have on their child at a young age."

This is the second perspective on Maslow's hierarchy I have seen in the past few weeks. As we try to make learning more rigorous and more inclusive for all students the importance of meeting student needs in a variety of ways is very important. This must include Social/emotional as well as technological.

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